Japanese semiconductor firm Renesas has halted mass production of silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductors and will now launch new products including microcontroller units (MCU) for the edge AI and AIoT markets, and gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors for AI data centers, as the company restructures its business focus.
Pegatron Chairman T.H. Tung, speaking as President of the Monte Jade Science & Technology Association of Taiwan at the Yushan–KPMG Technology Forum on July 2, highlighted semiconductors as the driving force behind Taiwan's export growth and economic momentum. He cautioned, however, that the strength of the New Taiwan dollar is creating headwinds, particularly for traditional industries.
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the demand for computing power continues to rise, placing AI chips at the heart of global tech competition. To secure a dominant position in the future of computing, China's local CPU and GPU companies are accelerating efforts to cultivate AI talent through collaborations with universities and research institutions.
Intel recently held its AI Summit in South Korea, sharing the latest trends in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and innovative applications across various industries. The event also explored future AI development directions and cross-industry collaboration strategies. Among the highlights, cooperation between SK Hynix and Intel on high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for next-generation AI accelerators attracted significant attention.
Infineon Technologies AG has announced progress in its scalable gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor manufacturing using 12-inch wafers, aiming to supply customer samples by the fourth quarter of 2025. This development positions Infineon to expand its leadership in the GaN market segment amid rising demand for advanced power semiconductors.
Taiwan's semiconductor and electronics industries are entering a new period of explosive growth, driven by the full-scale rollout of Nvidia's next-generation AI server platform, the GB200, and the scheduled launch of the even more powerful GB300 in the fourth quarter. Combined with expanding shipments of ASICs, the surge in demand is expected to significantly ease pressure from tariffs, currency volatility, and rising manufacturing costs.
Less than a week ahead of the tariff truce deadline, US President Donald Trump announced that the Commerce Department had struck a deal with Vietnam. Under the agreement, Vietnamese exports to the US will be subject to tariffs of 20% to 40%, with the highest rate applying to goods rerouted through Vietnam from third countries.
In the high-stakes world of semiconductors, materials are everything. In South Korea, the issue became a national priority after a 2019 trade dispute with Japan sent shockwaves through its tech sector. In a tit-for-tat diplomatic standoff, Tokyo slapped export restrictions on critical chipmaking materials—photoresists, hydrogen fluoride, and polyimide. With Japanese firms controlling more than 90% of the global supply, the move threatened to derail South Korea's chip production and exposed its deep dependence on foreign suppliers.
Kenmec Mechanical Engineering is using Nvidia's Omniverse platform to transform factory construction, enabling "one-click deployment" that cuts build times by over three months while expanding into humanoid robots and AI server cooling systems.
Tata Semiconductor and Tower Semiconductor have advanced to the financial bidding stage to modernize the Semiconductor Laboratory (SCL) in Mohali, Mint reports. The shortlisted firms will compete to upgrade the facility's outdated 180nm chip line with advanced equipment and long-term support.
Samsung Electronics has successfully developed its sixth-generation DRAM, known as 1c DRAM, built using a 10nm class process. The product has received internal Production Readiness Approval (PRA), signaling it has met key quality and performance benchmarks and is now in the final phase before mass production. The milestone brings Samsung one step closer to its goal of mass-producing HBM4, or fourth-generation high-bandwidth memory, in the second half of 2025.
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